Four Friends Vs the World, Round 1: Trust
by Mr. Mage
Summary: Four friends, betrayed by those they trusted. Four friends, making their way in the real world. Who can Harry trust? Who are the Four Friends? How can they stop those who wish to harm them? To answer their questions, they'll have to take on the world.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. 'Nuff said.

A/N This idea came to me out of nowhere, and refused to be put off. I hope you enjoy it!

Four Friends vs. the World

Chapter 1: Lies and Betrayal

Harry sighed. Just a normal day, for normal people, in a normal town, this was. However, Harry Potter was not a normal person, for he was the owner of the deadliest weapon in existence: a stick. This was not any stick, however, because this stick was made of holly and had a phoenix feather inside! Yes, you guessed it, Harry is a wizard. If you hadn't figured that out already, that sucks for you. Anyway, the reason poor Harry was so depressed was because his headmaster had stuck him in Privet Prison AGAIN. What was with that man? He, Harry, had just seen his fellow Champion die! One would think that the headmaster, supposedly caring for you, would place you with friends, not haters. Strike four hundred against Dumbledore.

Harry pulled out a journal from his desk and grabbed a pencil. He flipped the journal open, then started writing reasons his life sucked. **First Year**, he titled the page. _You'd think the supposed all knowing headmaster could figure out when a dark lord is in the castle, but no, let's invite said dark lord to teach children and hope he doesn't murder them all! He seriously needs to get those glasses fixed. I mean, really? Plant an extremely valuable stone in the middle of the castle, hidden behind a sleepy dog, a plant, some keys, a chessboard, a troll, and some potions, all the while hoping an abused child (me), an outcast prodigy (Hermione), and a lazy bum(Ron) will defend against a powerful Dark wizard. How addled do you get?_

_**Second year,**_ was the next page. _A big bloody snake slithers around the school for a year and what does the headmaster do to stop it? Nothing but rely on a memory-wiping fraud hired to teach kids. Seriously? That man fled at the first sign of trouble! It was left to aforementioned abused child to kill a giant death-glaring basilisk, nearly reborn psychotic killer, and save a little starstruck girl. Is that old man EVER going to do anything other than give people lemon drops and half truths? I mean, a twelve year old girl can figure out what the beast was but not a man with a hundred years of experience on that girl? Said girl's amazing brain aside._

**Third year,** he wrote. _WHO in their RIGHT MIND would let a bunch of SOUL SUCKING MONSTERS guard a school full of CHILDREN? Against an innocent man who was falsely imprisoned for thirteen years? Not to mention the fact that these monsters had a strange affinity for trying to KILL me! Pretty much the only good thing that came out of this year was me getting the marauder map, and that wasn't even because of Dumbledore. The one reason I am still living is the fact that Hermione just so happened to have a time turner and my dad's friend taught me the Patronus charm._

**Fourth Year**, he continued. _An imposter snuck my name into a goblet for a tournament for seventeen year olds, when I was FOURTEEN. Then that imposter continued on to become the DADA teacher for a whole year. I thought Moody was Dumbledore's friend? How did the old man never notice all the differences? Anyway, so the whole school turns against me except for Hermione and Neville. Even my supposed friend Ron turned against me. Then he comes back to me, saying the same things I've been trying to tell him! How lame is that? Continuing on, I barely scrape by with my life in the first two tasks. In the third, I am kidnapped right in front of the old man's nose by a portkey made by the imposter. I'm whisked away, only to see my friend killed and a dark lord be reborn. After said dark lord goes ON and ON about how amazing and cool he is, he proceeds to be beaten by a fourteen year old with no special training and then has the fourteen year old escape from under his nose. And people are afraid to say his name!_

After sending his journal to Hermione via Hedwig to see what she thought, he went back to staring out his window. Turning his head for a full panoramic view, he saw trees, houses, dried up lawns, pink hair, hoses—what? Pink hair? He looked closely, and realized Tonks was walking up to his door. Finally!, he thought, I get to escape this place! As Tonks Silenced his aunt and walked up to his room, he put the last bit of clothing in his trunk and opened the door. "Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks exclaimed cheerfully.

"Hey, Tonks! Why are you here?" Harry asked.

"To get you out of here, of course! Come on, quickly! We have to leave before the old coot figures out what we're up to!"

"What…where are we going?"

"To your house, of course!"

"But…I don't own any…" Harry said uncertainly.

"Bull! Of course you do!" Tonks said. "What would you do if you knew you had tons of money and owned a house?"

"I'd run away from here. Duh." Harry stated.

"Exactly! DumbOldDoor couldn't have that, so he locked you up in here and never let you go to Gringotts to find out. Now take my hand and let's skedaddle!"

"Alright!" Harry exclaimed. He grabbed on to the young Auror's arm, and with a pop, the two vanished from sight.

In the living room of a house that had been abandoned for years, suddenly a pink haired adult and a raven haired teen appeared out of nowhere. Within seconds of their arrival, another pop signaled another creature appearing. "Harry Potter sir! Dobby is very happy to see Harry Potter!"

"Dobby? What are you doing here?" Harry questioned.

"Dobby is taking care of Harry Potter's houses for him, so when he comes home, they are nice and clean!"

"Thank you! This place is fantastic! Good job, Dobby!" Harry said to the elf.

"Harry Potter sir is too kind," the little elf wailed. "Never has Dobby been thanked by a wizard!"

"Well, um…" Harry stammered, as Dobby popped away.

Tonks laughed and said, "You're cute when you're embarrassed, Harry,"

"So, Tonks," Harry turned to her, "where are we?"

"We, Harry, are at Potter Manor!"

Harry looked around for the first time, and was completely awed by what he saw. The Manor was…one big Room of Requirement. He didn't notice it at first, but he caught on when his thirst caused a water bottle to appear, and a chair materialized for him to sit on. "Hey, Tonks?" Harry asked. "What is this place?"

"Well, as you have probably guessed, this place is pretty much like the Room of Requirement back at Hogwarts." Tonks explained.

"What's that?" Harry questioned.

"It's pretty much a giant room that conforms itself to its user's needs. If you want a chair, it makes one. Need a bathroom? Poof!"

"That sounds really cool! But…you can't conjure food, right? What if I want pizza?" Right then an extra-large with cheese appeared.

"Been listening to Hermione, have you? This place is special in that respect. It'll take a random pebble, or grain of sand, or dust speck from somewhere and permanently transfigure it into food." Tonks elaborated.

"Tonks, how do you know so much about this place?" Harry inquired.

"Well, Harry, I've been here a lot, because I was one of your dad's best friends. I actually knew him the longest."

"How? I heard that Sirius and Dad met the first day, on the train!"

"That'll be because…" Tonks couldn't resist, and transformed her head into Darth Vader's, "Harry, I am your dad's sister."

Harry just couldn't take this latest shock, and fainted on the spot!


	2. Relations and Revelations

Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Harry Potter. 'Nuff said.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. My muse ran out of ideas, and I had to feed it by reading other people's amazing stories. If you've read my other story, you'll know that this one was put on standby, but a plot bunny mowed me down while I was completely unaware, and I couldn't resist. Almost like someone had me under an Imperious…Stupid magical plot bunnies.

Four Friends Vs. the World

Chapter 2: Relations and Revelations

"You're…you're…my…aunt?" Harry stammered. "How is that even possible? I mean, shouldn't the year difference have made it completely…I mean…"

"I know, I know, we're what, ten years apart? Real thing is, my parents (your grandparents), were smarter than James gave them credit for. Years before you were born, they had, I guess it'd be called a vision." Tonks replied. Seeing Harry was captivated, she continued. "You see, they had this extremely weird feeling that James was in trouble. This is how it went…"

*FLASHBACK ALERT*

"June, I'm having this incredible feeling of nausea," Harold Potter told his wife. He sat down heavily in his favorite armchair, and sighed.

"You too? I thought I was about to puke earlier. Thank goodness James isn't around today, I don't think I could handle his antics." June Potter responded. She, and her bulging belly, plopped down on the sofa across from him. Seven months along, her mood swings had already become legendary around the town they lived in. She and Harold lived in a nice little home in a friendly London neighborhood. Together, with their son James, who was ten, they were one of the happiest families to be found.

"Correct you are, darling. I am ever so grateful to Sirius for calling him over." Right then, he let out a small gasp of pain, and stiffened up.

"Darling! Harold!" June tried getting his attention, to no avail. "Do you need-" Suddenly a splitting headache wracked her body, and everything around her faded.

"June? Are you there?" She heard her husband say.

"Yes. I'm ok." She looked around, and noticed it was sunset, and autumn, very different from where they just were. A strange hooded man was walking up a leaf-strewn path, with a stick poking out of his sleeve. "Sir? Do you mind telling us where we are?" Harold asked. The man gave no response. "Sir?" Harold walked in front of him, and paled dramatically as the man passed right through him. "H-h-his face…" Harold muttered.

June deduced, "This must be some sort of vision," and she and her husband watched as the man blew the door to dust.

She heard a voice inside shout, "Lily! It's him! Take Harry and run! I'll hold him off!" June felt like sobbing. She knew that voice. And she had heard the fear in it. She and Harold dashed through the destroyed doorway, only to see their son, all grown up, lying dead on the floor. They ran after the intruder, and watched helplessly as the man threatened the woman who was their son's wife. "Stand aside, girl. Stand aside!" the man hissed.

"No, no, please, don't hurt Harry, take me instead, please!" the woman pleaded. June suddenly had a lightbulb. "Harold, that's Lily Evans!"

"Evans? As in, the Evans that live right down the street?"

"The very same! Look, the hair, the eyes…"

More hissing began. "This is your last chance, girl, move aside!"

"No, never, don't hurt Harry, please!"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Lily collapsed like a puppet, while the man turned on the baby. "Your turn," he hissed. The child stared straight into the stranger's red eyes, as defiant as a baby could get, as a streak of green light struck him in the forehead. However, the child didn't die. Baby Harry sat there, unmoved, as a green glow formed around the spot he'd been hit. Suddenly, Harry's forehead cracked open and a bolt of green struck the stranger in the heart. The man exploded, and I mean EXPLODED, in a brilliant flash that demolished the house. When the smoke cleared, the married couple noticed the baby was floating, right where the second floor should have been. Young Harry opened his eyes, and that's when the real shocker came: he was looking straight at them. Then the moment ended, and the young boy fell into a waiting Dumbledore's arms. The startled couple watched from above, as the Hogwarts Headmaster mumbled spells with his wand pointed at the baby. "Let's see…" The old goat mumbled. "A Hate-Me-Charm, a power block, an inheritance block, a mail repeller charm, and that should be it. Off to see the Dursleys you go." And after those words, the world did a fade out, and with a jolt, the two landed in their chairs, outraged. "Did you see that, Harold? The Headmaster staged it, so he could get his mitts on our grandson!"

*END FLASHBACK*

"So you see, Harry, after that, my parents didn't tell anyone about this, not even James. They let this event happen, because they knew that they didn't have the power to stop it. However, they knew that two could play Dumbledore's game! That Halloween was my first after graduating, so after you were placed with the Dursleys, my parents revealed themselves to me. They explained what had really happened, and why they had placed me with the Tonks, which was so that Dumbles wouldn't come after me, too. They implored me to check on you, as they knew that the Hate-Me Charm on you would make them beat you."

"Arabella Figg…" Harry muttered.

"Was me, Harry. I disguised myself as a batty old lady so I could watch over you, and nurse you back to health, if need be."

"Then…what about Dudley?"

"I managed to influence the elder Dursleys enough so that they never beat you, but I couldn't overcome the charms completely. I couldn't control Dudley at all, so I managed to make him overfed, so you could escape."

"I see." Harry said. Tonks looked out the window and saw it was dark.

"You better get to bed, Harry," She told him. "Tomorrow, I'll answer any questions, and maybe we could go to Gringotts to find out what your inheritance is, and break those spells on you."

"Alright, that sounds good. Night, Tonks. Can I call you Auntie Nymph?"

"At your own peril, sure! Night."

Harry collapsed on a gigantic bed in a room that had materialized. He had so many questions in his head; the 'For-Tomorrow' bin was overflowing! He'd have to get some sleep. His last thought before falling into slumber was, _I wish Hermione was here._


	3. Words Are Worth a Thousand Pictures

Disclaimer: Only in my sweetest dreams would I actually own Harry Potter.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, homework at my school has been picking up. This chapter: Harry meets one of the Four and finds out about a prophecy with a twist.

Four Friends Vs. the World

Chapter Three: Words Are Worth a Thousand Pictures

Harry woke up to see two big brown eyes staring at his face.

"AAAH!" he shouted, as he shot off the bed, startling Hedwig. Panting, he apologized to her, and his owl sent him a reproachful glare. Right then, he heard Tonks knocking cheerfully (How does one knock cheerfully, you might ask? That's Tonks for you) on the door, telling him it was time for breakfast. Harry dressed quickly and practically ran to the table to get food.

"What goes on, Harry?" Tonks asked him.

"Oh, not much," Harry replied, pouring himself a bowl of cereal. "Hedwig nearly scared me three quarters to death, and I had a weird dream."

"Oh?" Tonks asked, curious. "What kind of dream?"

"I dunno, I kept seeing badgers and greenhouses for some reason. It was really odd."

"Hmm, that is odd." Tonks mused.

"Yeah." Harry munched on his cereal. "So what are we doing today?"

"Well, I thought I would take you shopping for stuff at Diagon Alley."

"Sounds good to me," Harry said, and off they went.

Once they were in Diagon Alley, they set off for the different stores. First up was Madame Malkin's. "So, Harry," Tonks asked while Harry was being fitted. "What's up with you and Mione?"

Harry blushed furiously and squeaked, "Nothing!"

"Doesn't sound like nothing to me!" Tonks laughed.

"We're just friends!" Harry protested. As he tried to protect himself from Tonks's onslaught, the bell chimed and a familiar face walked in.

"Wow, Harry, I haven't seen you this cheerful in a long time!"

Harry whipped around to see who it was. "Neville!" Harry exclaimed. "How are you?"

"I'm great, thanks," Neville responded cheerfully. "Oh, Harry, I wanted to tell you that I was growing a plant called Snitchnit, it's how they get snitches, and it's really cool, but I've gotta…"

Harry blocked Neville out for a moment, and was reminded of his dream. "…and it can fly around, nearly took my head off, and—"

Harry interrupted, "Neville, you haven't had any strange dreams lately, have you?"

Neville frowned. "Well, yeah, but how'd you know?"

Impatiently, Harry waved him on. "What was it about?"

Neville thought about it, and said, "It was this one lion chasing a snitch all over."

"I had a dream of a badger digging holes in a greenhouse." Harry said.

Neville looked scandalized.

Tonks came back with Harry's new robes, and said, "Wotcher, Harry! Who's this?"

"This is Neville, Tonks," Harry said.

"Hello," Neville said.

Tonks told Harry, "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. You've both been having these dreams?" Harry and Neville both nodded. "I think they symbolize something. Harry, you dreamed about greenhouses, right? Neville loves plants. Neville dreamed about snitches, and Harry loves Quidditch!"

Harry and Neville pondered this. "That's true," Harry muttered.

Tonks started looking uneasy. "Well, there's something I need to tell you,"

Harry sensed her nervousness. "What's wrong, Tonks?"

"Let's finish shopping, then we can go back to the Manor."

"Let me tell Gran," Neville said, and rushed off.

Back at the manor, once everyone had arrived, Tonks asked the room for chairs and everyone sat down. "Now, there was a prophecy made not too long ago, referring to a lion, a badger, a raven, and a snake." Tonks started. "It goes like this:

_Dreams will show the path, the route_

_Secrets unveiled and the truth will out._

_The Lion be the leader of Four_

_With courage and bravery and much, much more._

_The Raven is the brains of the lot_

_Without the Raven, all is for naught._

_The Badger is the glue, as it be_

_Held together by loyalty._

_The Snake is the surprise of them all_

_Without the Four, the World will fall._

Harry whistled, and said, "I get it now! The badger in the greenhouse is Neville, and the lion, me! We're supposedly two of the Four mentioned in the prophecy. But who are the Raven and Snake?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" Tonks murmured

4 Vs. World ]

A/N: A free Snitchnit to whomever can guess who the Snake and the Raven are!


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